One of the more interesting things to note however is that doctor reputation management and reviews are a HUGE industry, mostly because doctors hate negative feedback. However, the research from Pew shows that most consumers aren't really paying attention to online reviews, and even less are leaving reviews. In fact in the two years since the last time Pew ran the study numbers related to reviews have either declined or seen no growth.

That said, 8 in 10 health inquiries online start at a search engine, which means that some form of SEO is going to be vital to all doctors moving forward. Give the post a read and let me know your thoughts.

Re: Reviews Are Big Business in the Doctor Search Space, But Consumers Are Slow to Ad

The one thing I see that Doctors need to concentrate on is patient experience outside of the actual care given. Not about how to coach a patient to leave a review which the article suggests. Consumers want an experience in addition to the product or service they are paying for and it's the experience that they leave reviews about.

It seems like more frequently than not hospitals and medical practices are patient mills which is due to the fact that their is almost a 100k shortage of general practice doctors in the United States right now.

Re: Reviews Are Big Business in the Doctor Search Space, But Consumers Are Slow to Ad

Originally Posted by Russ

The one thing I see that Doctors need to concentrate on is patient experience outside of the actual care given. Not about how to coach a patient to leave a review which the article suggests.

Great point Russ and I completely agree. My point in the article was that if doctors ARE able to get patients to leave a positive review then they should at least ask them to leave a meaningful review. All too often it ends at "Can you leave me a review?" The end result is along the lines of what I put in the article "Dr. X is the best and I am really happy about my experience."

More meaningful reviews will allow the few patients that are reading them the opportunity to relate, ultimately increasing the chances the patient may contact that doctor. In the end though good patient care is going to trump everything and ultimately benefit the doctor more in the long run.

Re: Reviews Are Big Business in the Doctor Search Space, But Consumers Are Slow to Ad

Todays' doctors have lost the art of bed side manner. Something for which I excelled at as a nurse in the ARMY. It stems from one thing, compassion. Something which it seems a lot of doctors sorely lack these days. This is how to get raving fans and reviews if you're a doctor in my opinion.

Re: Reviews Are Big Business in the Doctor Search Space, But Consumers Are Slow to Ad

Big thanks for the heads up on this study. I find interesting the disparity in the conclusions drawn from search stats (72% of internet users go online to find info) vs. online reviews of providers and facilities (17-20% of users depending upon demographic group). Nevertheless, if one in five patients are going to check out a Dr's rep online before making an appointment, I suspect that should resonate deeply to most practitioners.

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